Now, we've all had a lot of fun with the whole "May 21st is the end of the world and the Rapture" story. Two things have stuck out to me:
1) I have heard/read a lot of jokes on this from most people I know. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about jokes, but as usual, I had to take a slightly different approach to the story. I couldn't help but to keep wondering "What if they're right?" How many people would that have caught by surprise? Because, let's face it, not even most Christians thought that this was right. But I just sat down and thought about it for a minute - what would it be like to see Jesus return? If I had any inkling that it could be today, how would I spend it? I looked at my family and thought how grateful I would be to see them all in heaven. I wondered just how it would feel to fall at Jesus' feet and hug His neck and tell Him how much I've missed Him. I wondered what it would feel like to have the questions stop. I wondered how joyful it would be to never have to read another story online about a child dying. And I was kind of sad that Jesus didn't show up today. This story allowed me to see that day from another perspective, to actually give my heart a "trial run". And every time I heard someone make fun, I decided it was a great opportunity to share the fact that Jesus IS returning. I talked with a girl at work yesterday, she said "Well, it's to late for me to make it right." I tried to explain to her that Jesus has already made it right...
2) It amazes me how absolutely certain everyone I know is about the "end times". If people weren't laughing at the group, they were deriding them. Look, I have opinions about the end times just like everyone else. But I also don't hold very tight to them. Remember, the Jews had very specific ideas about what the Messiah would do when He came. He was supposed to fight a war, free His people, and reign for 1,000 years. Sound familiar? So whatever your preconceived notions are about what will happen during, precede, or postdate The Return, consider that you could be wrong. The nice part about whatever it is God decides to do is that I just want to be along for the ride. It doesn't matter to me if there is a Rapture, or if everyone goes all at once, or if something happens no one has thought of. I just want to hear that I'm in. Maybe I'm just simple, but it seems to me to be slightly arrogant to presume to understand God's plans. Even if He has laid them out in Scripture, we tend to only understand prophecy with the vantage point of hindsight.
This has not been in any way meant to put anyone down. I just noticed a couple trends, which I took part in to some extent, that I wanted to point out.
"Maybe tonight, Lord, maybe tonight..."
